Budgeting isn't as complicated as it seems. Just follow the basic rule of make more than you spend or spend less than you make. Take care of necessities first like housing, electric/water, phone/internet, around the house items (toilet paper, dish soap, you know the essentials), and essential food. If what you're making doesn't cover that, then it's time to look at getting more work or a better job or finding a cheaper place to live. If you can take care of that, then you're all set, those are the necessities. Now, with food. We tend to spend more money on food than we should. Eating out is a killer. Look for bargains at the supermarket. Avoid wastefulness.
So if you are spending all of your extra earnings on non essential items like new clothes (that you don't really need, a big screen tv, or other non-essential fancy stuff, then this is a problem. People buy this kind of stuff when they have extra money to spend. If you can only afford the essentials, then you have no business spending money for pleasure. Extra earnings should go into the bank or even better yet, some kind of retirement account with a nice amount of interest. You can even start investing some of it once you get enough. You should always be planning for your future. Extra earnings should go into one of these accounts before it gets spent on a new set of fancy silverware that you don't need. Some people will set aside a certain percent of their earnings to go into an account each month before they even get to see the money. This can be helpful so you aren't tempted to spend it. Anything left over after that set amount has been deposited can then be spent on luxuries.
Basically, earn enough to afford the essentials, put away a given amount of money to save for your future, and then do whatever you want with the rest.
The hardest part is avoiding the temptation to buy things that you want, but don't really need. If you catch yourself eying that new iPod, ask yourself if you really need it and if you can really afford it. If the answer to either of those questions is no, then don't buy it unless you have a couple hundred dollars laying around with no better purpose.
Be careful with credit cards. Debt just adds an even bigger complication into the mix. If you are in debt, add that to the list I mentioned before. Essentials first, pay off debt, put extra away, anything left over, do with it what you please. If you are paying off debt, don't forget to be saving at the same time. Money should be going to the credit people and to your bank account at the same time. That way, once you have it paid off, you will also have a nice little sum in your bank account. An added bonus for your hard work.
Budgeting is basically like being on a diet. Find you MT line and eat a given number of calories based on your goals. If you're trying to lose weight, you can't afford the calories of a big plate of spaghetti after you have hit your set limit. Your budget is like your MT line, don't spend over it if you are trying to save up money.
I hope this helped. There are lots of books and stuff that go into the technical stuff about budgeting. I just know the basic guidelines.
Saving money is just like any other goal and should be approached as such. Have a set goal in mind, figure out what you need to do to reach that goal, and then put your plans into action.
Good luck, I know you can do it!
! and I need to learn to budget. 